Kathleen A. Scherf, age 74 of Farmington Hills, passed away August 17, 2024. She was born February 4, 1950, in Detroit, Michigan to Otto Bernard (Bud) and Mary Catherine Scherf.

After attending Ladywood High School in Livonia where she made lifelong friends, she attended Wayne State University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in special education. She moved to Reading, Michigan for her first teaching position in a junior high school. Though she found the area beautiful, she declared, “I’m just not a country girl,” and returned to the metro Detroit area where she began her career with Dearborn Public Schools. She spent her remaining career there teaching special education students, trainable mentally impaired adults, and early childhood education, Great Start Readiness Program. During this time, she also attended Oakland University and received two master’s degrees, one in counseling, the other in early education. She cared deeply for her students and their success and earned respect and gratitude from their parents throughout her career.

Kathy appreciated beauty in the world around her and took delight in creating a comfortable home that blended simple, contemporary pieces with treasured family mementos and heirlooms and her expansive yard and gardens that she carefully cultivated through the seasons. She enjoyed learning about watercolor painting and had begun to create her own expressive pieces and delighted in the work of poet Mary Oliver, appreciating her observations of the natural world.

Kathy was the loving sister to Joanne (Debbie), Mary Beth (Mark), Martha (Hector), and Thomas (Shirley). She will also be lovingly remembered by nieces and nephews Jaclyn (Tom), Lindsey (Stephen), Michael, Peter (Christina), Brian (Rachel), and Emma. She was delighted in recent years by her great nephews and great nieces – Henry, Arthur, Penelope, and Olivia. She is also survived by her special and loving companion, Ron Barry. Their adventures together brought her much joy, especially experiences at the DIA Detroit Film Theatre and at concerts throughout the Detroit area. Kathy was also blessed by close friendships, cultivated through the years, with loving individuals who enriched her life as she did theirs.

In a book Kathy’s dad, Bud, wrote to capture the legacy of his family, (A Time to Remember: Lineage of the Scherf Family, 1822-1988), he closed it as such: “Naturally, I cannot end the story of the Scherf family heritage without including in it a brief glimpse of those who are very close and dear to me – my own immediate family. My children … Kathleen (Kathy), a solid citizen with many friends and always active in many ways.”

Years later, as each of Bud’s children were asked to contribute their thoughts so the book could be updated, Kathy shared these memories: “Going to bed when it was still light out in the summer and talking to the kids next door through our bedroom window. Going to visit Grandma and Grandpa Scherf on Sundays; crossing Mack Avenue with Grandma Scherf, we never crossed at the light, and I’d scream all the way across just for the fun of it; once we reached the S.S. Kresge store, whatever I admired was usually bought for me! Going downtown before Christmas on a weekday night with dad and Joanne to buy mom’s Christmas gift. Dad’s legs were so long then! We had a caramel corn treat after shopping. Being kissed good night.”

A Memorial Service for Kathleen will be held on Saturday, October 12, 2024, at 1:00 pm at Northwest Unitarian Universalist Church, 23925 Northwestern Hwy., Southfield, MI 48075.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed in her name to: Karmanos Cancer Institute, Detroit PBS, Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan, and VFW National Home (Eaton Rapids, MI).